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Highly
addictive
because
of
its
euphoric
and
libidinous
power
high,
crystal
meth—or
Tina
as
it’s
known—tears
lives
apart
and
brings
users
to
higher
risks
of
contracting
HIV,
hepatitis
C
and
a
slew
of
other
viruses
and
bacterial
infections.
But
a
new
treatment
is
being
tested
in
South
Florida
to
help
meth
addicts
slow
down
their
usage
and
eventually
quit.
Miami-based
Dr.
Scott
Segal
is
using
Vigabatrin,
a
drug
used
to
treat
epilepsy,
to
treat
methamphetamine
addicts.
While
the
treatment
is
still
in
the
experimental
stages
in
the
U.S.,
the
drug
has
been
successfully
used
in
Europe
and
Mexico
for
meth
and
cocaine
addiction
in
recent
years.
Segal
has
already
had
success
with
Vigabatrin:
he
prescribes
the
antiepileptic
drug
to
cocaine
and
crack
addicts,
in
a
study
conducted
from
his
North
Miami
office.
The
methamphetamine
trial
is
a
part
of
a
national
trial
that
is
testing
the
effects
for
meth
users
for
the
first
time.
“We
are
extremely
optimistic
and
excited
about
the
potential
for
Vigabatrin
as
a
treatment
for
methamphetamine
addiction,”
Segal
said.
“Currently
there
are
no
proven
or
effective
medications
for
meth
addiction.”
Vigabatrin
intercepts
the
receptors
in
the
brain
that
cause
addicts
to
crave
narcotics.
The
trial
aims
to
demonstrate
that
the
drug
will
safely
and
effectively
treat
meth
dependency
on
users.
Segal’s
study
does
not
just
dispense
Vigabatrin
and
send
patients
on
their
way;
they
get
support
from
licensed
counselors
and
become
part
of
an
ongoing
support
group.
Kimberly
G.,
a
44-year
old
lesbian
mother
of
four,
said
Vigabatrin
and
the
recovery
treatment
was
a
“life
saver.”
Before
joining
Segal’s
trial
in
July,
she
felt
helpless
to
combat
her
crack
addiction.
She
maintained
her
habit
by
working
as
a
manager
at
a
McDonald’s
restaurant
in
Miami.
As
crack
took
hold
of
her
life,
Kimberly
began
skimming
money
from
the
cash
register,
until
she
was
eventually
caught
and
fired.
She
hit
rock
bottom
this
year,
broke,
unemployed
and
evicted
from
her
home.
“I
would
avoid
mirrors,
because
the
person
that
I
saw
was
the
devil,”
she
said.
She
began
to
seek
treatment
in
July
when
she
saw
a
flyer
for
Segal’s
Vigabatrin
trial.
She
began
to
notice
that
the
treatment
was
taking
effect
almost
immediately.
While
she
continued
to
smoke
crack
during
the
first
two
weeks
of
treatment,
Kimberly
noticed
the
desperate
cravings
and
overbearing
need
to
use
subsided.
“I
was
still
using,
but
I
was
not
on
a
rampage,”
she
says.
Soon
the
nightmares
and
“creepy
crawly”
feelings
dissipated.
The
cravings
have
mostly
subsided,
and
she
continues
to
get
support
from
the
treatment
center.
Now
in
the
final
phase
of
the
study,
she
says
she
can
finally
face
herself.
She
works
as
a
concession
and
catering
technician
and
the
American
Airlines
Arena,
and
she
says
she
feels
lucky
to
have
the
opportunity
to
turn
her
life
around.
“In
order
for
your
life
to
change
you
got
to
want
to
change,”
she
said.
“I
was
a
junkie
bitch,
but
I’m
not
a
junkie
bitch
–
I’m
a
somebody.”
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